Where to enjoy summer concerts on the cheap in L.A.

Though the annual array of summer tours and festivals may be enticing, the shows can also empty your pockets. It’s good to know L.A. offers plenty of cheap alternatives for great music over the next few months.

This weekend’s 12-hour marathon of 150 artists at Make Music Pasadena carries only a $5 suggested donation, and that’s just the beginning of many free offerings that keep your wallet fat and brighten your summer nights.

KCRW kicks off its all-ages Summer Nights concert series on June 8 at One Colorado in Old Pasadena with synth-pop local band, Hot as Sun. The station continues its music program at the Hammer Museum courtyard later in the month with electro-soul duo AM and Shawn Lee (June 27), Mexican singer-songwriter Ximena Sariñana (July 11) and breezy L.A.-based electronic band Classixx (July 25). Its Chinatown nights begin June 15 with an uptempo dance-party vibe featuring the station’s on-air talent.

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“It’s a great way for us to be out there and meet our audiences,” says Jason Bentley, KCRW’s music director and host of “Morning Becomes Eclectic.” “Our DJs are always involved and we put them in a curatorial position as well to match a band’s performance. We bring our eclectic spirit, our taste and our commitment to music discovery as well as our support of local artists.”

The long-running Grand Performances at California Plaza downtown makes for a pleasant nighttime setting for a 10-week series that blends cultural and musical genres. The roster includes a tribute to Nina Simone (July 5), Afro-Peruvian rhythm maestros Novalima (Aug. 3), Grammy winners and L.A. favorites Ozomatli and guests performing vintage sheet music from the archives of the Los Angeles Public Library (Aug. 2), funk favorites Rufus (July 20) and electronic music promoter Green Galactic celebrating its 20th anniversary (June 30).

“We are one of those discovery places,” says Leigh Ann Hahn, director of programming. “It’s a chance to try so many different artistic experiences all summer long.”

Grand Performances opens June 21 with “The Final Frontier: An Improvised Sci-Fi Soundtrack” with New Zealand-born composer, producer and DJ Mark de Clive-Lowe. “It will be a very unique montage of 50 years of sci-fi films,” says De Clive-Lowe, who will be joined by live musicians and VJ Steve Nalepa. “We cherry-pick what is visually the most interesting and then completely improvise the soundtrack on the night.... It makes for an exciting and unexpected evening’s entertainment.”

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The innovative artist also will be performing on Aug. 10 with his electronica-meets-jazz project Church at the Levitt Pavilion L.A. and Levitt Pasadena, both summer calendar mainstays. People are encouraged to bring picnic baskets and lawn chairs to enjoy more than 100 free, all-ages concerts at MacArthur Park (June 15 to Aug. 25) and Pasadena’s Memorial Park (June 16 to Aug. 24).

Songwriter Jimmy Webb gets the season started at MacArthur Park, which inspired his song, “MacArthur Park,” which hit the Billboard charts 40 years ago. Other concerts include New Orleans orchestra and cabaret Vaud and the Villains (June 22), Latin hip-hop group Akwid (July 4), hybrid rap and bluegrass band Gangstagrass (July11), and raucous Venice bluegrass/swing outfit Dustbowl Revival (July 19).

If the museum scene is more to your liking, summer also offers a chance to expand your mind with fine art before grabbing a cocktail to watch local artists at Friday night’s Jazz at LACMA series, which will include the chamber-jazz stylings of Billy Childs (June 14) and veteran trumpeter Bobby Bradford (Aug. 9). On Saturdays, LACMA also offers the Latin Sounds series, with blends of salsa and Afro-Cuban sounds, which continues through September.

Dance shoes are in order for the Getty Museum’s Saturdays Off the 405 and its spectacular views. On June 15, the monthly series features electronic artist Robert DeLong, whose recent debut album, “Just Movement” earned him a growing following. He also has a dynamic stage presence. “I do a lot of looping and jumping around,” says the Seattle-born and L.A.-based artist, whose performances incorporate multiple instruments with laptops and game controllers. “I was sick of seeing electronic shows that were making cool music, but you had no idea what they were doing. They could be surfing the Internet. I wanted my shows to be a lot more physical and energetic.”

For a coastal vibe, the Santa Monica Pier presents its regular Thursday night twilight series beginning July 11. The 10 concert lineup will be announced June 3. With programming input by the Echo’s Mitchell Frank, the pier’s shows promise to mix indie sounds with the sea. “I think this will be the best program they have ever had,” says KCRW’s Bentley.

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